BJP will protest interest of Hindu saints: Rajnath Singh

Coming out in support of Malegaon accused Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, BJP President Rajnath Singh on Sunday said his party will protect the interest of Hindu saints and back those accused in the Malegaon blast.

"Politics in India has always had a deep relationship with religion in this country. I, on behalf of the BJP, want to assure the seers that maligning of their name by the UPA will not be tolerated by the party," Singh said at a Sangh Parivar conclave here.

Singh alleged that Lt Col Purohit was being falsely implicated by the UPA government for the Samjhauta Express blast.

"These investigations are inspired by political motives," said Singh.

VHP's international president Ashok Singhal accused UPA President Sonia Gandhi of conspiring three years back to malign Hindus in India in an attempt to dilute their faith.

"The harassment and arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya on murder charges was planned by her," said Singhal.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhuvan Chand Khanduri, who is a retired senior army official, also took a dig at the UPA government for its alleged attempt to malign Hindu saints and soldiers of the country.

"It is time that the Hindu community stands unified against such allegations (of Hindu terrorism)," said Khanduri.

RSS chief K C Sudarshan criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said at times he showed signs of "mental instability".

"The concept of Hindu terrorism is sheer madness as the term Hindu stands for a tolerant and all-inclusive faith," said Sudarshan.